Michigan schools budget: free meals, record funding, safety upgrades

Lawmakers approve $24.12 billion education budget to fund K-12 schools, colleges and universities
K-12 budget includes 4.6% per-pupil funding boost, totalling $10.61 billion at $10,050 per student
Other highlights include: free school meals, funding for at-risk students, more money for higher education

Michigan approved a $24.12 billion education budget early Friday morning, agreeing to record high per-pupil funding, no-cost lunch and breakfast for K-12 students and a small bump for colleges and universities.

The deal, part of an $81 billion budget agreement to fund state government operations, was approved two days after the politically divided Legislature missed the constitutional deadline to approve a spending plan but passed a stopgap bill to avoid a state government shutdown.

A general government spending bill passed the Republican-led House 101-8 and the Senate 31-5. A separate education spending bill cleared the chambers in 104-5 and 31-5 votes, respectively. Both were heading to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her expected signature.

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The school aid budget will “feed every child free meals at school, help our students succeed academically, and ensure Michiganders are safe in their communities,” Whitmer said in a 4:24 a.m. statement.

Supporters of the plan said the new budget would help close opportunity gaps for at-risk students and other kids who need additional support, as well as give educational leaders more flexibility to address local needs.

“This budget makes sure every young Michigander has a fair shot to thrive and build a future right here at home,” said Sen. Darrin Camilleri, a Trenton Democrat who chairs the Senate’s K-12 appropriations subcommittee.

But some critics say the spending should have included policies to encourage better results.

“We already invest more per student than most states with below-average results,” said Sen. Thomas Albert, R-Lowell. “We should tie spending increases to policy changes that will truly improve student achievement.”

School groups slammed state leaders for not reaching bipartisan consensus sooner.

“To be clear, Michigan’s schools have been harmed throughout every step of this unnecessary, Lansing-made crisis and the lack of accountability as lawmakers continued to obstruct a budget from moving forward will not be forgotten,” said Robert McCann, executive director of the K-12 Alliance of Michigan, a group representing 123 school districts.

Here are highlights of the budget:

Foundation allowance

Public schools will receive $10,050 per student, up 5% from $9,608 per student.

Virtual cyber schools will receive the same amount as other public schools after previously receiving less.

School districts have wide flexibility for how they spend the per-pupil grants.

But school leaders criticized other changes in the budget, including continued diversion of School Aid Fund money to cover higher education.

Universal school meals

Leaders allocated $201.6 million for free breakfast and lunch for all public school students and private school students. It’s the third school year of the Michigan School Meals program which covers the cost of meals for students who otherwise don’t qualify for federal meals benefits.

The funding is up slightly from the $200 million the Legislature put aside last year.

Many school districts warned parents they would need to start paying for meals again if a budget was not in place by Tuesday.

At-risk funding

The deal includes a 25% bump in at-risk funding for students. Districts received these funds based on the number of economically disadvantaged students and the concentration of poverty within their district.

School leaders will be able to use up to 30% of their funds to reduce class sizes.

School safety and mental health

Leaders agreed to $321million for school safety and mental health funding. Two years ago, leaders agreed to $328 million, with private schools being eligible for a small portion of the funds.

But last year, leaders initially only put $26.5 million for the program which school leaders decried as cuts. A few months later, leaders passed an additional spending measure to provide $125 million more toward the program. In that deal, leaders also provided $1 million toward a tipline for students to anonymously report guns in violation of the state’s safe storage law.

Higher education

Michigan universities will see funding boosts ranging from 1.9% to 4.8%, an overall $2.34 billion spend.

An effort by Republicans to slash funding for the University of Michigan and Michigan State University was dropped from the final bill.

The plan diverts about $1.3 billion from the state’s School Aid Fund, the main funding mechanism for K-12 schools, to community colleges and universities, an increase from the last budget cycle.

Dolly Parton free book program

The budget eliminated a $4 million allocation to pay for books Michigan children receive in the mail each month. .

That funding existed in the past two budgets. About 16% of Michigan children under the age of 5 received books from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library national program in 2024. It’s unclear how much the state funding removal will decrease the services, which also receive local donations.

Twelve states, including Ohio, fund the monthly free book program through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library for all children.

Betsy Moore, who coordinates the free book efforts in northwest Michigan, called the budget snub “short-sighted.”

“It’s a cost-effective program that helps kids be ready for kindergarten,” Moore said. “The state will end up spending more for remediation.”